Great advice. Do you happen to know what the tamiya fine white primer looks like ? flat, glossy ? I think the command module has a flat look to it from what i have seen in photos. I have both future & the bottle of clear enamel gloss, & have never used either one for decals so this will be a first & i want to do it right the 1st time. I guess i should top coat the decal with the same thing i used underneath ? i have dull cote & also clear lusterless flat, both lacquers, will either yellow over time ?

BERT aka MODEL MAKER wrote:Great advice. Do you happen to know what the tamiya fine white primer looks like ? flat, glossy ? I think the command module has a flat look to it from what i have seen in photos. I have both future & the bottle of clear enamel gloss, & have never used either one for decals so this will be a first & i want to do it right the 1st time. I guess i should top coat the decal with the same thing i used underneath ? i have dull cote & also clear lusterless flat, both lacquers, will either yellow over time ?

Primers are (usually) always flat because they are intended to provide a solid foundation for the color coats to adhere. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to scrape acrylic paint when it's applied over bare plastic? If you first paint the bare plastic with a proper lacquer primer (like Mr Surfacer or Tamiya Primer) and then paint the acrylic over the primer, the color coat becomes much stronger and easier to apply.

You don't necessarily have to top coat the decal with the exact same thing you used under the decal, but it's always good to keep things simple. If I were in your shoes, I'd just use Future for all the glossy coats instead of the clear enamel gloss and eliminate any chance of the lacquer dull cote from causing problems over the enamel. The dull cote should be applied very thin from a distance; in fact, just spray some in the air and then move the model through the cloud. In the future (no pun intended), you may want to switch to using Tamiya primer as the base coat and then using acrylics for everything else up through color coats and clear coats. The acrylics will brush paint over the Tamiya Primer beautifully and are easier to manage indoors than enamels. And having an airbrush, even a simple cheap one like a Paasche H, will elevate your work to a level that is hard to match with rattle cans and hairy sticks (paintbrushes). Good luck, Bert, and keep us updated on your Apollo module!

edit: Neither of your lacquer clears should yellow over time, but keep the model out of direct sunlight to prevent the UV rays from doing odd things to the paint

Thanks guys ! I see now that the tamiya fine white primer will look better than the bare white plastic even though thats how the show & direct it to be in the instructions. The command module is a flat white anyway for the apollo/skylab & apollo/soyuz. I see that in my stash i still have a partial can of testors flat white enamel. would it be a waste of the testors flat white if the tamiya white primer will provide the same color coverage ? i know the tamiya sprays are now synthetic laquer and since the tamiya primer is written in all japanese i don't know what it contains exactly. probably lacquer i am guessing.

I prefer (by a wide margin) PolyScale Flat. You have to dilute it and apply it very gently with an airbrush. Make sure you are in an area with lighting you can use to judge when the sheen is dampened. Never over-apply any dullcoat.

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I've browsed through te DECALS topic and I was thinking about using Future as a setting solution. Is it a good Idea ???

Before applying my decals, I will put a coat of Future and let it dry. Then, after soaking my decal in water, just before to put it to my enterprise model, apply a fine coat of Future and then put the decal over it.

I waat to do that because I've heard some people having problem with the MicroSet solution attacking the Future coat and whitening it.

samusaran wrote:I've browsed through te DECALS topic and I was thinking about using Future as a setting solution. Is it a good Idea ???

Before applying my decals, I will put a coat of Future and let it dry. Then, after soaking my decal in water, just before to put it to my enterprise model, apply a fine coat of Future and then put the decal over it.

I waat to do that because I've heard some people having problem with the MicroSet solution attacking the Future coat and whitening it.

It all depends on what you mean by "setting solution." If you are talking about using it on the location where you are going to apply your decal as opposed to using a little puddle of water, I do it sometimes, depending on how irregular the surface of the kit (and if I didn't use enough Future to prep the model for decals to begin with). IMHO, you're going a little light with the one coat of Future in prep of decaling. I've never been able to get a high gloss finish by spraying one coat. I basically spray multiple coats until I get that glass-like finish. Then I use a water or Future (if necessary) applied to the surface and then apply the decal on the wet surface. If you use Future, yes, it will help your decals conform better to irregular surfaces, cracks and crevices but it does not replace the need to apply a decal softener and a setting solution like SolvaSet (I can't speak for MicroSet as I've never used it) on top of the decal after it has dried.

If you're talking about applying Future on top of a decal after it's dried, I don't see the point of doing this as an alternative to softener or setting solution. It doesn't do the same the thing. Give me a bottle of softener and Solvaset and I can decal a marble and with no creases or bubbles. You can't do that with Future.

As to the "hazing" or "whitening" I've only had it happen once and that was when I didn't let the Future cure long enough. If you want to be safe, let it cure 24 - 48 hours depending on the humidity where you live.

Thank you Apollo Adama. If I understand correctly, as long as the surface is too irregular, I can use Future or water to help the decals conform to the surface. But if there is some irregularities, like panneling lines, a setting solution would be better.

By the way, is it absolutely necessary to apply a decal softener ??? Won't a setting solution be enough ??

samusaran wrote:Thank you Apollo Adama. If I understand correctly, as long as the surface is too irregular, I can use Future or water to help the decals conform to the surface. But if there is some irregularities, like panneling lines, a setting solution would be better.

By the way, is it absolutely necessary to apply a decal softener ??? Won't a setting solution be enough ??

Are these solutions safe around acrylic paints ??

I think what you meant was "as long as the surface isn't too irregular" and if that's so then, yes, you are correct. Future is a great kickstart initially underneath a decal for when you are applying them to heavily recessed areas, curved areas or areas, as we discussed, very irregular surfaces.

The fact is that, yes, you can really use it any time you want instead of water but I personally only use it as necessary because frankly, Future can get very messy and if you aren't careful, you can wind up with it causing more problems than it solves by caking up.

I use both a softener and a set because it's more effective for those tough areas than a set alone. If you've prepared your decals correctly by sealing them before applying them, it won't hurt them or the color. But I will tell you that when your surface is flat or has no obnoxious curves, you don't need either a softener or a set.

From what I can tell, there's really not a whole lot of difference between acrylic paints and Future when it really comes down to it. I always do all of my base colors in Acrylics anyway (and all of my detail in enamels) and I've been using this stuff for years and I've never had problem with paints. As I said, the only problem I ever had with Future was when I didn't let it cure long enough.

Is it OK to use regular water from the faucet (tap) to soak the decals ??
Some people are talking about distilled water for thinning acrylic paints, but also to avoid any silvering or bad reaction to setting solutions (decals turning brownish).

I have a decal question, I was gifted 5 models from a friend that said he would never get around to building them. When i recieved the package I was very surprised at what was inside, 3 of the models are vintage space models from 1969, the 1/96 apollo 11 columbia & eagle complete with the iron on patches, the 1/72 sea king helicopter #66 and the mercury atlas that sits on the launch platform the raises the rocket strait up from a prone position, this kit is the one with the fuel tankers on the roadway & elevated platform. the other kits were the man in space rocket collection & the astronaut with the MMU back pack. The decals all look good EXCEPT the helicopter, those decals have a yellowish tint on the carrier film & they are not clear at all. Is there any hope for these decals because they are in otherwise great shape.

BERT aka MODEL MAKER wrote:I have a decal question, I was gifted 5 models from a friend that said he would never get around to building them. When i recieved the package I was very surprised at what was inside, 3 of the models are vintage space models from 1969, the 1/96 apollo 11 columbia & eagle complete with the iron on patches, the 1/72 sea king helicopter #66 and the mercury atlas that sits on the launch platform the raises the rocket strait up from a prone position, this kit is the one with the fuel tankers on the roadway & elevated platform. the other kits were the man in space rocket collection & the astronaut with the MMU back pack. The decals all look good EXCEPT the helicopter, those decals have a yellowish tint on the carrier film & they are not clear at all. Is there any hope for these decals because they are in otherwise great shape.

You could try what I read in FSM and here. Tape the decal sheet to the window for a week or two and see of the sun bleaches the film clear again. Don't go any longer or two things will occur:

1.) The colored areas will begin to fade.
2.) The backing will begin to break down from the UV exposure.

BERT aka MODEL MAKER wrote:I have a decal question, I was gifted 5 models from a friend that said he would never get around to building them. When i recieved the package I was very surprised at what was inside, 3 of the models are vintage space models from 1969, the 1/96 apollo 11 columbia & eagle complete with the iron on patches, the 1/72 sea king helicopter #66 and the mercury atlas that sits on the launch platform the raises the rocket strait up from a prone position, this kit is the one with the fuel tankers on the roadway & elevated platform. the other kits were the man in space rocket collection & the astronaut with the MMU back pack. The decals all look good EXCEPT the helicopter, those decals have a yellowish tint on the carrier film & they are not clear at all. Is there any hope for these decals because they are in otherwise great shape.

Microscale set 72-120 has full & stencil markings for #66. I don't know if it's still being printed, but they show up regularly on evilbay. Also, the Airfix kit is still in production - Airfix (in the UK at least) are very good about replacement parts and decals, so it might do you no harm getting in touch with them (the kit is #3010).

"There's no point in trying to engage my enthusiasm because I haven't got one" - Marvin the Paranoid Android

I'd like to know if any1 has successfully made large decals, and have been able to get them on the model with relative/ minimum fuss.

I'm planning on making decals for my V2 CC Incom T-65, and the largest and longest decals will be on the sides of the fuselage and of course all four wings. I'm estimating decals around 2"x3" for the wings, and 4"-5" long for the sides of the fuselage.

Any experience on successful models, minus all the other suggestions here, would be great. I'm leaning more towards simply masking and painting the largest ones instead, and making decals for the smaller details.

PS - I'm using photochop cs2 and the FM X-wing decals, blown up 3X their size for it.

TER-OR wrote:Solvaset is pretty darn strong, but I have found some decals resist it.

The decals that come with the Round 2 Star Trek kits are pretty resistant to Microsol. Has anyone else tried Solvaset on them? I tried Solvaset on the aztecs for the 1/350 Enterprise kit and got no better results than with Microsol.